The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum just keeps coming up with unique events for northeast Ohio car enthusiasts. The latest is "Dancing with the Cars," which will be held at the museum on Friday, April 3, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. This will be an evening of music, food, drinks, dance and a special program as the museum celebrates the special collection of automobiles that have been on display during the winter in the "Best of the Best" Cleveland Car Club Showcase. There'll be a brief awards ceremony for the car owners plus a "Stump the Experts" panel featuring collector auto experts from northeast Ohio. The museum is located at 10825 East Boulevard, on University Circle in Cleveland. Tickets are $35 per person ($25 for museum members) which includes two drinks and light appetizers. For more information visit the museum's web site www.wrhs.org and click on Crawford Auto Aviation Museum. You can also email the museum at crawfordfriends@wrhs.org or call the museum offices at (216) 721.5722, etc. 260.

There's an article on ohio.com today (and I assume, Saturday's Beacon) about a Wadsworth couple who have a wonderful car collection and have decorated their house in a collector car theme. There are many passionate car people in Northeast Ohio who have amazing collections. Another one who comes to mind is Bob Jones, whose collection and automotive exploits have been featured in an earlier Beacon Journal article. People around the country have built their own personal "fantasy garages" to house their special vehicles. What private collections have you seen in Northeast Ohio that impressed you the most?

If you're a fan of automotive museums they don't come much better-or closer-than Cleveland's own Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. The annual meeting of the Friends of the Crawford will be held on Thursday, March 19th and it's open to the public. The event, which includes dinner, starts at 6 p.m. It will be held in the museum, which is located on University Circle, 10825 East Boulevard (east side of Cleveland). The evening's agenda includes a special presentation "An Intimate Look at Cleveland's Auto Manufacturing Past" by Frank Wrenick. Attendees will also be able to check out the vehicles in the museum's extensive collection. Cost for dinner and drinks is $30 per person. Contact the Crawford Museum by March 16 via email at Crawfordfriends@wrhs.org or call (216) 721.5722, extension 260.

My kids are approaching the age where they'll be buying their own first car. Of course, they have the beaters that we gave them to get them through their school years but they had no choice on what they were nor did they pay for them.

This rite of passage for them made me think back on the first car I ever purchased and the momentous occasion it was in my life. It was 35 years ago this June that I bought a twelve year old Porsche 356B Coupe for the princely sum of $1500. Of course, I didn't have the money and I had to convince the seller to take payments for a month before I could take delivery. Of course, he knew a sucker when he saw one and happily agreed. The car had a rebuilt engine and a fresh backyard paint job, with several bugs permanently embedded in its gleaming red color. For years, it was my only source of transportation and I'm happy to say that I still have it to this day, albeit having gone through three engines and a couple transaxles.

It's almost time to fire-up your collector car that's been in storage since last October (or November-depending on how adventurous you were). Assuming your car was properly stored (Sta-Bil in the gasoline tank, fresh anti-freeze in the cooling system, battery disconnected and charged, anti-moisture for interior, etc.) your car is ready for its spring resurrection. The most important element of your spring car preparation is the motor. You don't want to start up an automobile that's been sitting idle for four or five months. A "dry" start can damage your motor! My recommendation is to remove the spark plugs and pour a small amount of Marvel Mystery Oil into each cylinder. Wait a few hours before starting, to ensure the oil has worked its way onto the cylinder walls. Once you've started the car allow it to idle for at least 10 minutes, so any condensation will be removed from the exhaust system. Obviously, there are many other steps to be taken before hitting road, i.e. tire pressure, fluid levels, etc. but you're probably aware of those.